BOP Daily News
November 8, 2003
The spirit of BOP News lives on in
This is So Last Week,
our pop culture week-in-review,
presented in a pleasing quiz form.
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Since the film Underworld came into being, we’ve been wondering how the whole vampire/werewolf blood-feud got started, and now comes word that this and other burning questions will be answered in the next installment in the budding franchise. According to director Len Wiseman, more history than was included in the first outing will be covered in the sequel, including an epic battle in medieval times between the two warring creature-of-the-night factions. While we here at BOP understand the importance of leaving potential story arcs open for possible sequels, we would like to strongly encourage filmmakers to quit with the making of films that don’t make sense until you’ve seen “the entire saga”, as it’s annoying to audiences. Particularly when so many directors tend to forget they have some ‘splainin’ to do.
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Stephen King seems to be the hot new writer in Hollywood. Again. Close on the heels of a report that his short story 1480 will be made into a film comes word that his e-book, Riding the Bullet, is going to be adapted for the screen. Mick Garris, who helmed the TV adaptations for both The Stand and The Shining, considered some of King’s more successful screen translations, will direct a cast that will include David Arquette and Barbara Hershey. The tale, set in 1969, focuses on a 21-year-old college student who is distraught over a break-up with his girlfriend and tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide on Hallowe’en. To add to his heartache, he learns shortly thereafter that his mother has had a stroke, and whilst hitchhiking through rural Maine (where else?) is picked up by a mysterious driver who harbors dark secrets of his own. No word on whether the project is headed for the big or small screen; however, King is expected to have completed two more novels and 17 more short stories, half of which Hollywood will option, before filming is completed.
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Famke Janssen and Donald Sutherland have been signed to star in The Four Saints, a World War II drama. The film is based on the true story of four nurses who set up a medical post near the front, where they encounter great danger and, oddly enough, romance. The nurses are naturally described as heroic, as the film title would suggest. You know, just once, we’d like to see a film about a group of average members of the armed forces who just did what they were told and then went home. We’re pretty sure that even the so-called Greatest Generation had its share of those.
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Nicolas Cage is set to play an arms dealer in the upcoming film Lords of War. The film will follow the ambitious scoundrel as he schemes his way to the top of his profession, only to discover he indeed has a conscience after all, and it’s none too happy with him. The movie reportedly will paint the life of an arms dealer as one of glamour, excitement, and lots of pretty girls, making it a difficult life to leave behind. One rejected plot would have involved Cage’s arms dealer attempting to have his conscience removed, with the unfortunate side effect that he suddenly develops an Italian accent.
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Revolution Studios is heading to jail. Actually, the studio just greenlighted the film Slammer, which is set in a women’s prison. The black comedy tells the story of a former publicist doing time who tries to create a positive image of life in jail by producing an inmate talent show. As there is currently a dearth of women-behind-bars flicks these days, BOP would like to encourage this trend.
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"That's it, baby, when you've got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!"
Box Office Prophets offers quality, reliable news about the entertainment industry. BOP is also entertaining. To that end, please be advised that some content in this column is intended to be humorous and should not be considered factual.
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